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Topic: Cold Plains (Read 27982 times)

Gharbad remained where he was, inside the cave. As Aife got farther away from the cave, she could no longer see him directly due to the darkness of the cave contrasting with the brightness of the daylight outside. Approaching the shrine, Aife could see that the glimmering object was a golden chalice with intricate designs of a religious nature etched all over it.

The chalice was placed directly in the centre of the square stone altar. But most disturbingly, the cup was not empty, but it contained a bloody disembodied heart. One would hope it was the heart of some animal, and not a human heart, but it was about the right size for a human, and the demons had done enough killing in this area in the past few weeks that such a thing wasn't outside the realm of possibility. Even more disturbing, this heart appeared to be quite fresh, as if it had been extracted this morning. Or else magic was preserving it and preventing it from rotting, and the blood from drying and clotting up.

And there was a lot of blood. It filled the cup and oozed down the sides of the chalice and pooled upon the stone altar. Upon closer inspection it even seemed that the heart was still beating, if only faintly, which was causing fresh blood to keep oozing over the rim of the chalice. There was definitely some foul magic at work here.

This was clearly an enchanted shrine, but what type of shrine was difficult to determine. Most shrines provided some kind of temporary benefit when the magic was activated, but not all of them did.

A little grossed out, Aife took an extra moment to look around for to see if there might have been something else.

Assuming no, she would sheath her sword and take the goblet up in one hand. Holding it away from her body she would carefully head back to the cave entrance, taking small steps and careful not to spill.

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The act of picking up the goblet seemed to activate the shrine's magic. Aife knew this because as soon as the golden cup was between her fingers and had left the stone alter, it glowed brightly and became very warm. It also became wreathed in flames, but these flames did not burn her skin. Rather, they were the flames of Hellfire, fuelled by the domain of elemental magic belonging to the Sin of Lust. Thus, Hellfire had the potential to consume inanimate objects such as clothes and books and wooden items, but when the flames licked at the skin of a living creature, they would only inspire a lustful passion, rather than do any physical damage.

This was the magic at play when the pulsing heart inside the goblet suddenly sprang out of the cup and into the air like a Bouncing Betty. The disembodied heart then exploded in a wave of Hellfire that washed over Aife and everything else in a 20-foot radius, burning away what little clothing she had, and catching her shield alight with physical flames that would soon make it too hot to hang onto. And when the wave of Hellfire met with all that exposed skin, Aife found herself so overwhelmed with sexual desire that she could no longer stand up. Her knees buckled and she fell to the ground at once.

(Fire Shrine: Nearby characters take damage when activated -- damage in this case translating to arousal and clothing loss )

Once the explosion had run its course, the coldness of the plains returned, and it seemed the shrine's magic had been fully spent. The goblet was lying on its side on the ground where Aife had dropped it, but the adventuress would not at this time have the presence of mind to register that detail. She would need to take care of this lingering lust magic, and get herself off somehow before she would be able to think straight again.

And all too conveniently, Gharbad was approaching from the direction of the Cave, stroking his erect cock in one hand and holding onto his mace in the other. "Live.. and give good!", he bleated cheerily as he walked closer, "...ma-a-a-ny times over!"

Aife was a little surprised at her situation, but was not in a place to really consider all the options.

Since she was already naked and on her knees, she simply went to all fours and wiggled her now naked ass at the goatman. She was in need to do something about her lust before doing anything about her lost bikini top and loincloth, besides, maybe her shield would only be scorched by the fire.

At least she could tell herself that while let the big dick fuck her holes. She looked over her shoulder at him. "You seem ready, c'mon then!"

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Aife had barely finished her sentence when Gharbad's rough palm was upon her left hip. The long fingers reached around her body to grasp her, as if her waist was a basketball, and he was getting ready to slam-dunk her. The goatman settled down on his knees behind Aife and set his mace down on the ground beside her right leg, so that he would have both hands free. Using his right hand to hold onto his human-shaped cock--now bright pink as it had emerged out of its furry sheath--he guided himself between Aife's folds and wasted no time in pushing his obscene cockhead into her waiting pussy.

Once he had a few inches inside the woman, Gharbad reached forward with both hands, grasping Aife's hair in his left hand and her reaching under her body with his right hand to squeeze her hanging breasts. With his hold on her fiery hair, he roughly jerked her head back and pushed his hips forward to slide the rest of his length inside her. Gharbad bleated in pleasure as he began to hump the horny human girl to his heart's content.

She bounced back onto him as he thrust into her and lifted her ass to give him the best view of the penetration.

After a little bit of time in that position, she would curl her back tot he point she was looking up at him while her continued to pound in her. From this angle her would have an easy time grabbing her tits, and even watching them bounce with his thrusts.

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Gharbad's rough bestial hands roamed all over Aife's naked body, including her tits and her waist, her shoulders and her neck, and her hips and ass too. "You like Gharba-a-ad", he bleated triumphantly as he continued to pump his hot animal dick in and out of her, grunting and snorting as he went, "Gha-a-arbad like hu-u-uman girl! Co-ome with Gharba-a-ad". Or was he saying "cum" with Gharbad? Soon enough, his balls shuddered and his dick exploded inside the woman, spraying jets of hot semen straight past her cervix.

Spent for now, Gharbad pulled himself out of Aife and rose back up to his hooves, picking up his mace in the process. He took a few steps back from the woman he had just fucked, and offered his left hand to her. "Follow Gharbad. Be ha-a-appy and good!", he said cheerily.

Her sword was probably okay after the fire, as well as her new magical bracers, but her clothes were gone and that left her bare feet stepping carefully as she checked how damaged her shield was.

The nude woman was in a pickle as even the candles she expected to use for light were gone. Trusting the goatman was dangerous since he was the reason she was now so underdressed, but she hadn't much choice.

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The shield had some scorch marks on the outward face of it, but it was still sturdy and usable. Her bracers, being magically enchanted, were completely undamaged. And her sword, being metal was a bit warm to the touch but otherwise fine. Even the sheath it came in was mostly undamaged, but she would no longer be able to hang it on her hip now that her belt had fallen apart.

Though the girl's clothes had been reduced to smouldering rags that no longer held together enough to stay on her body, she would still have her footwear if it was something thick shoes or boots (sandals would be lost, since the straps would have burned away). Whatever gear she had been carrying would be partially intact. Candles, for example, would be somewhat deformed from having melted and re-solidified, but they would still be usable. However, the container that carried them would be burned full of holes, meaning she would have to carry all of her equipment in her hands from now on until she could find something else to put things in.

There was also the golden chalice on the ground, which would at least be valuable for the gold in it, though it could also be enchanted with magic. Gharbad would pick it up himself if Aife didn't want it.

There was always a choice in where to go. Gharbad was not forcing Aife, and even if he was, she still had her weapon with which to fight him. By going with him, she was choosing to do so, perhaps because she believed he would be useful. Indeed, as he led her back to the cave and into the pitch darkness of the underground world, it was apparent that Gharbad could see perfectly fine, and he would lead the way as long as Aife held his hand. The path he took curled around somewhat to the right hand side, while at the same time descending lower beneath the ground. Then, some light sources appeared, which turned out to be torches set in sconces against the rocky cave wall. Gharbad took one of these torches and offered it to Aife so that she could see where she was going now.

What that light revealed some might call disturbing. The rocky cave floor was littered with half-rotted human corpses. They were strewn out randomly, and bore fresh wounds to compliment their older ones... which meant that these corpses had previously been zombies before someone cut them all down. Gharbad stood among them, beckoning for Aife to follow him further into the cave.

(Continue posting in The Cave thread -- Aife's position is near the entrance on the First Floor)

"Hail the outpost!" Flare's voice cut across the thinning air. Of all the rogues Flavie was one that he did not want to try and sneak up on. Besides, if he got her in a good mood and had Hadi stand watch for a few hours maybe Flare could convince the redhead to give up what she denied him last time...

Flare didn't have to worry much about sneaking up on Flavie. There were very few places to hide on the road leading to her camp, and Flavie could easily spot both Flare and Hadi from a distance before Flare called out to her. Still, it seemed like common courtesy to hail someone before approaching. In response, Flavie stood from the fire pit where she was just beginning to assemble some wood for the evening's fire. She looked in the direction of the two approaching men, and raised her right hand in the air to wave to them.

Flavie waited until the men got closer before she called out to them. "Ye brought a friend, did ye?", she asked, "Better behaved than the last one, innit". Lianna had been quite a handful last time.

"Aye, he is that. Can't say he is easier on the eyes though." Flare replied, which really wasn't saying much since even corrupted to the gills Lianna was still a very pretty and very nude woman. "Lianna is still being purified by Akara in camp, and we're on our way to finish clearing more corrupted rogues out the last level of the cave. There were a few to many to handle myself so I rounded up some help. Since the portal expired I thought we would swing by you and give you some company and at least a night of not having to keep watch. I'm still not sure how you are doing that, but it's a pleasure to see you again either way." Flare continued as he reached her, taking her hand and bringing it to his lips.

Flavie tilted her head and hummed, "Maybe not ta yer eyes~". She flashed Hadi a suggestive grin and chuckled to herself before looking back at Flare. She nodded at his report on Lianna's condition, and cracked a hint of a smile when he said he came here because the portal was closed, knowing that he could have just as easily used the Waypoint and bypassed this camp altogether. Most people did that, and it meant that Flavie very rarely had visitors, except when sisters came from camp to resupply her stocks of arrows and provisions.

I'm still not sure how you are doing that, but it's a pleasure to see you again either way

When he took her hand and kissed it, the red-haired ranger gave Flare a funny look. She let him finish, and then took her hand back, smirking at him as if he had cracked a lame joke. "Ah, so yer a gentleman now, are ye?", Flavie teased, "Well I'm glad yer thinkin' o' me, all the same. An' how do I do it? I'm a ranger, this is what we do..." She said it with a shrug as if it were simply obvious that every ranger of the sisterhood had the skills of perception, physical stamina, and mental toughness to keep a continuous lone vigil in the wilderness for weeks on end.

Flavie then turned to Hadi and gave him a cock-eyed look. "Do ye have a name?", she asked him, a bit sarcastically. Hadi had been standing there quietly, letting the other two talk while he checked out the pleasing feminine curves of Flavie's toned athletic body, until the ranger abruptly called him out on it.

Flavie rolled her eyes and glanced at Flare. "I'm just the only ranger left, is all", she told Hadi, then looking at both him and Flare she gestured to the almost-built fire and said, "Sit, lads, I'll ge' a fire goin'. I sho' a quill rat for me supper, but it's too much meat for one meal, so I'm happy to share"

Flare mentally sighed at Flavie's reaction and apparent interest in Hadi. Either she was playing hard to get, preferred men who took a less direct approach, didn't see him as a possible lover, or simply didn't like him enough for one reason or another. Well he wasn't going to push much harder then if she wasn't interested."We would appreciate that Flavie, I think I still have some cheese we can share as well." Flare said, taking the indicated seat and digging though his bag until he extracted a hard chunk of cheese.

"Aye, that'll do", Flavie said, but she let Flare hold onto the cheese for now while she got the fire going. She crouched down on the opposite side of the fire pit from the two men, and started sparking a piece of flint until the tinder lit up. Then she squatted there, blowing on it, to coax the flame to grow brighter until the surrounding pieces of wood had caught up. Hadi sat still, not wanting to disturb Flavie from her work, and also using this opportunity to try to look down the front of her leather armour.

"So I never asked, Flare, but where is it ye come from?", the ranger asked as she glanced up from the fire periodically. Small talk seemed appropriate for passing the time until the fire was big enough for the meat to cook.

Flare fought the urge to roll his eyes at Hadi's clumsy attempts to get a glimpse of Flavie's tits, the real prize here was looking up her skirt and getting a eyeful of her panties. Still Flare fought the urge to look more then once or twice.

"I don't really know for sure." He said, shrugging. "I lived with a group of nomads as a child. I was told my mother died giving birth to me and when I asked anyone who my father was they would punish me, so I stopped asking. As far as I know I was born in the north somewhere, but that's about it. What about you? How did you get involved with the sisterhood?"

"Me father's a blacksmith in Tristram. Never knew me mother", Flavie answered as she watched the fire grow brighter and sat back on her heels to observe it, "Dad an' I never got along too well, so when I was fifteen I ran away an' joined the sisterhood". She grimaced as she kept her eyes on the fire, warming the palms of her hands with the heat, "Never looked back. Haven't spoken to him in years". She glanced up at Flare finally, and then reached over to a bundle of cloth nearby that contained a quill rat carcass, already fully plucked of its quills and rubbed down with a few commonly found herbs known to grow nearby. "What about you, Hadi, what's yer story?", she asked, looking over to Hadi as she brought the meat towards the fire pit and began to drive a wooden skewer through it.

"Hm?", Hadi hummed, perking up, then he realized it was his turn to speak, and he answered, "I come from a small town east of Lut Gholein. My father was a caravan driver before me, so I picked up his trade, and after he died I took over the business". He shrugged and glanced between Flare and Flavie. It seemed like there was more to the story that he wasn't telling, but Flavie wasn't going to press him.

Flavie placed the skewered carcass into a frame above the fire so that she could spitroast it slowly while they talked. Soon, the smell of meat and spices was making its way to everyone's nose, carrying with it the faintest hint of the aphrodesiac quality of the quill rat's venom. Flavie had of course dug out the venom sac, but trace amounts of the lust inducing chemical were also naturally spread throughout the meat of the animal, especially near the skin where the quills emerge, making it impossible to eat a meal of quill rat meat without getting just a little turned on. It was the main staple of the rogue camp, so by now Flavie and the other rogues were used to putting up with the feeling to avoid going hungry.

"I hear Lut Gholein's got troubles same as here. Perhaps, Flare, ye'll be headin' east after all this mess is cleaned up?", Flavie asked, continuing her small talk as she sat back and took care of rotating the spit when needed.

Cracking the cheese into three parts he handed each of them a chunk. "Lut Gholein huh? That sounds a good a place as any. As much as I am loathe to leave the rogue's pleasant company I will move on to where things need to be dealt with." Flare said, he had only experienced a quill rat's venom a few times before, so even the smell of the roasted meat began to make his length stir in his pants. "Did you two ever want to go back to your hometowns?"

"Tristram was burned down", Flavie said, shaking her head. She had heard the news from one of the rogues a few days ago, who had heard it from Akara. Hadi stopped whatever he was about to say, looking concerned. Flavie brushed off the concern, and said, "The Monastery's me true home. When the demons are beaten, that's where I'll stay".

Flavie looked at Hadi, to let him know he could take his turn and answer. The sullen caravan driver looked at Flare and answered bluntly, "My home town is piss and shit. I prefer Lut Gholein. The Jewel of the Desert. Lord Jerhyn is a good sultan, he treats his people well".

"A desert huh? Lots of women with not a lot of clothes then?" Flare asked offhandedly as he reached over to poke at the roast. Flare had never been to Lut Gholein before, or any desert for that matter, so the extent of his knowledge was that it was hot and had a lot of sand akin to a beach.

Hadi grinned at the suggestion. "Lots of women", he answered, a playful tone in his voice, "None for you, haha. Every girl has a husband or a father, or else she is a whore with a guild master protecting her. If you want a woman in Lut Gholein, you'd better have some coin!"

Flavie looked rather disgusted at the prospect. "In this country, Hadi, women aren't property!", she scolded the young man.

"I know that, Flavie, your commander Kashya beat it into me", protested Hadi, scowling harshly, "But that is where I come from, take it or leave it"

Flavie closed her eyelids and shook her head, then looked at Flare, hoping for some support from him on the issue.

"Hmm, I'll admit that slavery has a place in this world." Flare said, idly scratching at some hairs that had grown on his neck since his last shave. "But only for criminals, prisoners, or those in debt, and only for a short time. Being born a slave or becoming one just because you are a woman, or whatever physical feature, is just a waste of potential. Besides, I've always found enough willing women to bed that give much better sex then a reluctant girl."

"Well if they were aiming to attack the camp with numbers you don't have to worry. I removed most of the demons and undead in there, save for some fallen." Flare explained. "Besides them I think the only threat left is a group of about eight corrupted rogues in the deepest part of the cave. According to Akara and Kasha, the leader used to go by Marian. Unfortunately they seem to be fully in control of their bodies and minds, unlike Lianna."

Flavie's lips parted and her eyes widened at the mention of the name, 'Marian'. She sat breathless, and then closed her lips again, pondering the implications of what Flare had said. "Are ye sure they said Marian?", she asked. She thought a moment, and said, "Then ye must know she was our First Ranger... everythin' about bein' a ranger I learned from Marian, and so.... and tha' musta been why she sent..." Flavie trailed off in her own thoughts, and then reset her tone for another statement, "The one who attacked me camp, tha' I told ye about. She said someone named Cold Crow'd sent 'er to clear me out. If Cold Crow is Marian, then tha' makes sense now"

"Yes, I'm sure it was Marian. They had the same reaction as you did when I described some of the rouges in the cave." Flare said as he shifted to release the pressure on his growing erection. "I'm not sure if she is known as Cold Crow now, but the bottom of the cave is very cold itself, so I would think the correlation is a good guess. Hadi and I will be going down into the cave in the morning to finish clearing it out, capturing or killing them as necessary."

Friendly conversation continued until the quill rat was done cooking, at which point Flavie lifted it off of the fire and distributed some wooden plates to Flare and Hadi so that they could carve off pieces of meat for themselves. Flavie took a big chunk of the tail for herself, and placed the block of cheese Flare had given her next to it so that the cheese melted slightly from the warmth of the cooked meat.

"It's not often I have company out here, so I appreciate the visit, lads", Flavie said as she began tearing strips of meat with her fingers to munch on (because in the dark ages, knives and forks didn't exist... but there was Pepsi), "It seems everyone's in a rush to go west now"

"It's a pleasure just being in the presence of your beauty Flavie." Flare chuckled as he sliced a chunk for himself.

After a few minutes later of silent eating and staring and Flavie, a grunt came from Flare. "Seems like the rat had quite a lot of venom left I guess." Flare said as he abruptly stood up, his cock clearly outlined by his pants, and moved to sit next to Flavie before abruptly pulling her into a deep kiss.

Although he knew about the venom's effects, it still hazed his mind with lust for the nearest woman. In his hazed state he figured that just a kiss would be fine. After all he had been places that people kissed as a greeting.

Of course those kisses didn't involve tongue or reaching down to cup a redhead's ass, but Flare wasn't thinking to hard about that...

"Mmh!", came the surprised noise from Flavie's throat as she found her lips pressed up against Flare's. Her cheeks quickly went red as her eyes dropped half-lidded, and she pressed one hand against the man's chest and draped the other over his shoulder. She could feel her nether region tingling and moistening, and it took a few seconds for her to make up her mind about whether she wanted to keep going or push him away.

Eventually, her hands pressed a little more firmly against Flare's chest and shoulder, to get him to withdraw. She was left breathless, with much of her face blushing shades of pink and red. "Nnh, so ~that's~ why ye came to see me...", she murmured softly, giggling a little.

Hadi was feeling much the same effect from the quill rat meat as Flare was. He had already shoved his hand down into his pants, and he was stroking himself shamelessly inside his pants as he watched Flavie and Flare kiss from the other side of the campfire.

Flavie glanced across at Hadi, frowning, and then looked back at Flare. "I'm not tha' kinda girl, dinnae I tell ye?", she cooed to him as she glanced down at the bulge in his pants, biting her lip in conflicted thought.

"Of course you aren't" Flare said, sliding a hand over her bare stomach. "How about you be a woman sharing a night of passion with two handsome men who are fighting for her family? Two men who may not see another night..." He continued, leaning down and nibbling at her ear.